Order of the Sword

The Order of the Sword (魔剣教団) is a religion present in Devil May Cry 4. They believe that long ago Sparda served as the feudal lord in Castle Town of Fortuna. Now they worship him and want to eradicate all demons in his name. Every year The Order celebrates the Festival of the Blade, the day that all the faithful remember Sparda's "great sacrifice".

Members
The Order is headed by Sanctus, the holy priest of the Order and Vicar of Sparda who is killed by Dante at the beginning of the game. He was later resurrected through the Ascension Ceremony. The Knights of the Order were previously lead by him, but now the Supreme Commander of The Order is Credo. Knights all wear uniform clothes and swords, designed by Agnus, The Order's Chief Alchemist. Other notable members include Nero and Gloria, as well as Kyrie, who was the songstress for the Festival of the Blade this year, though it isn't clear if she is actually a member of the Order or not.

Activities
The Order has been collecting Devil Arms for some time before game, in order to create minor Hell Gates across the island. In turn, the Gates were needed to summon demons and thus provide the Order with the material to build their own artificial demons (the Angelos and other lesser demons), power the Ascension Ceremony, as well as complete The Savior.

Technology
The Order has an extensive research division, which not only develops human weapons, like swords, but also explores magical field. They use this knowledge to create their own artificial demons, among many other uses.

Weapons
The Order's weapon craftsman is Agnus, who creates extra-ordinary weapons, weapons that have special abilities (mostly swords), to protect the Order at all costs.
 * Caliburn - Standard weapons of the Order's Knights.
 * Durandal - Officers' swords.
 * Red Queen - Nero's customized Durandal. It has the unique Exceed system, which increases the power of the sword's attacks by spraying a flammable propellant across both the opponent and the blade.

Artificial demons
Demons created by the Order to support their ranks.
 * Cutlass - A demon made from combining fish and a blade, it can cut through the earth and metal with its powerful fin-blade.
 * Gladius - A reptilian demon that takes the shape of a large sword. It is wielded by Agnus as his preferred weapon.
 * Basilisk - A dog-shaped demon capable of launching its head like a fireball.
 * Bianco Angelos - artificial demons created by animating a hollow shell using demon and human souls.
 * The Savior - A gigantic, immensely powerful demon, created in the image of Sparda by melding together millennia of demonic matter and spirit. It is pivotal to the Order's plans.

Other technology

 * Ascension ceremony is a magical ritual devised by the Order in order to empower its subjects. If successful, it grants the participants supernatural powers and angelic appearance, although in reality they only become demons.
 * Hell Gates - by making the smaller copies of the real Hell Gate and powering them with the powerful Devil Arms, the Order was able to opens pathways to the Demon World. They use them as an endless supply of demons.
 * Chrono Slicers are time-manipulating devices, requiring the Key of Cronus to function. Most of them are just prototypes and operate only for a limited period of time.
 * Laser Barriers - These defense mechanisms are composed of rapid-moving lasers, these are encountered in the Headquarters of the Order.
 * Gyro Blade - Large powerful artifacts shaped into top-like structures. They are capable of mobility only with the use of the Anima Mercury.
 * Jump Pads - Pads that allow the user to reach greater heights. They can only be used when the Wing Talisman is nearby.

The Headquarters of the Order of the Sword
The main headquarters of the Order is an immense fortress on the eastern side of the island, built above the ocean itself.

Background
The uniforms, purpose, and symbols make it seem most likely that the order was based on the real-life Knights Templar who were accused of worshiping the demon Baphomet as a god.